State Responsibility Research Articles

Sustainable Development and Sovereign Debt: A Legal Perspective on Debt Sustainability for Africa

The World Bank’s 2023 Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) puts twelve low-income countries (LICs) in Africa at a high risk of debt distress while six are in debt distress. The recurring unsustainable debt in Sub-Saharan Africa has had a long-standing effect on the pace of development, as measures taken to accommodate debt resolution have often had a counter-effect on economic performance, as investment in development priorities and the social welfare of citizens have often taken a back seat to debt servicing. The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and its implementation Action plans address unsustainable debt as a major obstacle to achieving sustainable development and therefore highlight the importance of supporting poverty eradication by filling the financial gap and encouraging coordinated assistance in developing countries to attain long-term debt sustainability through relief, restructuring, and financing. However, there is a need to clarify the norms underlying sustainability principles and ground them in law to create stronger frameworks for certainty, legitimacy, and effectiveness in their application to Africa’s sovereign debt problems. This research analyses the arguments for a sustainable development approach to improving debt sustainability in Africa, by relating the state responsibilities and obligations within the sustainable development norms in international law and those responsibilities accruing to creditors and sovereign debtors. It analyses these aspects with three emergent norms of international law, sustainable development, shared responsibility, and debt sustainability, and provides a correlation with the socio-economic, environmental, and governance dimensions of sustainable development. The research finds that neglecting the coherence of these aspects in African debt strategies not only increases vulnerability for debt crisis but also prolongs recovery, thereby slowing the progress towards sustainable development.

Epilogue: Against Codification

These short remarks are slightly expanded from a text delivered at the Conference on Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Against Sovereigns, held at the University of Luxembourg on 10 January 2024. It sounds an extended note of caution against unthinking use of codifications in international law, and explains how reference to materials beyond influential projects such as the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) and the Articles on the Responsibility of states for Internationally Wrongful Acts reveals a rather more complicated landscape than first appears when considering the enforcement of arbitral awards against states. I address briefly two examples: the enforceability of arbitral awards procured by fraud or corruption, and the rules for the resolution of treaty conflicts.

Allocation and Attribution of Commercial Space Activities in Armed Conflict

The involvement of commercial space into an armed conflict between two opposing states might bring misunderstandings and misperceptions between the neutral state and the affected belligerent state. It also raises legal concerns about the allocation of the responsibility under space law and the attribution of commercial space activities under the law of state responsibility, Which are always confused with each other. The existing approaches are not sufficient to address the complexity. This paper proposes a new approach to determine attribution in the context of commercial involvement, namely ‘line segment theory’ and ‘proportionality theory’. The theories leverage the different types of commercial space services and their sensitivity levels to provide corresponding standards for attribution, while taking account of the subjective status and preventive measures that have been taken by the responsible state. The theories offer a balanced approach to consider both the legal principles of ‘genuine connection’ and ‘incentive mechanisms’ to avert unnecessary burdens imposing to states and to assure states have adequate motivations to properly supervise its national space activities. States should embark on such legal discussions to seek for symmetry of their legal positions and subsequently avert miscalculations and mistrusts.

State Responsibilities and the Combatting Against Forced Disappearance in Bangladesh: Institutional and Legal Challenges

State Responsibilities and the Combatting Against Forced Disappearance in Bangladesh: Institutional and Legal Challenges

Renewable Energy Policies in the USA: A Comparative Study of Selected States

Policies concerning renewable energy transition are the primary responsibilities of individual states in the United States. This article aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of state-level renewable energy policies, focusing on identifying key factors driving successful energy transitions and offering actionable insights for policymakers. The research investigates: What are the critical indicators and strategies contributing to an effective renewable energy transition at the state level? To ensure meaningful comparisons, states were selected based on top and bottom performance across various energy parameters, including renewable energy share, solar and wind capacity, electricity costs, and policy adoption (RPS, EERS, and net metering). A rubric, structured around environmental, institutional, social, and techno-economic criteria, was developed to measure policy effectiveness across 15 indicators. Scores for each state were weighted based on their contextual relevance, determined through consultations with energy professionals and the adaptation of existing weighting frameworks. Washington state emerges as the frontrunner, achieving the highest scores for both weighted and unweighted transition performance, closely followed by California. Conversely, Kentucky, Texas, and Florida exhibit the lowest scores. A correlation analysis reveals relationships among performance indicators, such as the impact of stakeholder diversity on energy equity and the link between policy integration and energy demand. This study provides a roadmap for prioritizing renewable policy integration, showing how technology and policy drivers collectively influence the rate of energy transitions. It offers essential insights for shaping state-level renewable energy policies, fostering partnerships, and steering states toward a greener and more resilient energy future.

Univerzální jurisdikce a postih závažných porušení Ženevských úmluv z r. 1949

Violations of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) are characterized by two sets of legal consequences. Some of them are considered to be so serious that entail not only international responsibility of States for wrongful acts but also criminal responsibility of individua! perpetrators. The criminal repression of grave breaches of IHL, called also war crimes, is not just a matter of domestic law, but it results from international law. Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 have not only defined grave breaches (Articles 50/1, 51/11, 130/111, 147/IV) and provided for their investigation and prosecution, but set up also the obligatory universal jurisdiction of States Parties with respect to the grave breaches (Articles 49/I, 50/11, 129/III, 146/IV). It is a kind of paradox that in 2009, after 60 years from the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, the universal jurisdiction is perceived, by a number of States, mostly developing States, as being problematic. As evidence, there is a recent proposal of the African Union leading to the adoption the UN General Assembly resolution on “The scope of application of the principle of universal jurisdiction”. The universal jurisdiction has been established in customary international law in relation to the crime of piracy since the 17th century. In the second half of the 20th century, this principle has been embodied into treaty law, such as the Geneva Conventions or the 1984 Convention against Torture. The universal jurisdiction has its place in international law. In practice, however, it appears mainly in a narrow, subsidiary form, where a perpetrator is found in the territory of the State and cannot be extradited to another State. Lt is linked to the treaty obligation aut dedere aut judicare. On the contrary, the absolute universal jurisdiction is rather exceptional and has permissive rather than obligatory nature. The obligatory universal jurisdiction, as set up in the Geneva Conventions, is rare and in practice hardly enforced. The primary jurisdiction rests with the States applying territorial or persona! jurisdiction. The principle of universality is a kind of safeguard against impunity of certain crimes based on a horizontal complementarity. Its impact has to be assessed in the light of the current development of international law, including the ad hoc tribunals and the International Criminal Court. The binary obligation aut dedere aut judicare has been completed with a surrender as the third possibility.

State Responsibility towards Civil and Political Rights in Africa: A Reflection of the Right to Liberty and Security of Persons in Zimbabwe under International Law

State Responsibility towards Civil and Political Rights in Africa: A Reflection of the Right to Liberty and Security of Persons in Zimbabwe under International Law

Analysis of state responsibility for Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water discharge into the sea

The oceans and seas are the common heritage of humanity and should, therefore, be protected. Japan, as a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, discharged noncompliant nuclear-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean without fulfilling its obligations of notification and consultation, which is a violation of several international commitments and international principles. Japan’s act of discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the sea meets the constitutive criteria of state responsibility of the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, which has no exemptions, so Japan should bear state responsibility. Given the obstacles to the identification of damage, the lag in the mechanism of ex post facto liability and the difficulties in the implementation of state liability in practice, corresponding solutions are proposed: At the international level, clear criteria for determining damage should be established, and a system for disposing of nuclear wastewater should be set up based on the principle of risk prevention; at the domestic level, consideration should be given to the adoption of interim measures and the initiation of domestic litigation based on investigation, evidence collection, and information exchange.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Policies of Marampa Mining Ltd. and Understanding Their Effects on Society – Environment and Human Resources of Sierra Leone (West Africa)

Sierra Leone, a country situated on the western side of the African continent has its own enriched history of tribes, British colonization, slave trade, Ebola virus outbreak, blood diamonds and mining. This country was under civil war for twelve long years (1991 to 2002). Due to the political turbulence the economy of the country has also suffered largely. Most of the population is still depending upon traditional unorganized agriculture. Sierra Leone is extremely rich in minerals and natural resources. In recent decades, the mining industry has risen and is handsomely contributing to the country’s economy. Marampa Mines Ltd. is one of such organization that is extracting the iron ore from the Lunsar town of the Port Loko district of Sierra Leone. This study aims to shed light on the organization's activities in three key areas: social, environmental, and human resources. The concept of sustainable development serves as the foundation for this research, and the organization's actions are evaluated accordingly. Notably, this study is conducted independently, without influence from the state of Sierra Leone or the Gerald Group. While it is acknowledged that mining activities inevitably lead to degradation, it is the state's and capitalists' moral and legal responsibility to strike a balance between economic and environmental concerns. This study is one of the few to focus on Sierra Leone and is expected to inspire further research and investigation.

Waging warfare against states: the deployment of artificial intelligence in cyber espionage

AbstractCyber espionage has significantly been viewed as a risk towards nation-states, especially in the area of security and protection of Critical National Infrastructures. The race against digitisation has also raised concerns about how emerging technologies are defining how cyber activities are linked to waging warfare between States. Real-world crimes have since found a place in cyberspace, and with high connectivity, has exposed various actors to various risks and vulnerabilities, including cyber espionage. Cyber espionage has always been a national security issue as it does not only target States but also affects public–private networks, corporations and individuals. The challenge of crimes committed within the cyber realm is how the nature of cybercrimes distorts the dichotomy of state responsibility in responding to cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the veil of anonymity and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence have further provided opportunities for a larger scale impact on the state for such crime. The imminent threat of cyber espionage is impacting the economic and political interactions between nation-states and changing the nature of modern conflict. Due to these implications, this paper will discuss the current legal landscape governing cyber espionage and the impact of the use of artificial intelligence in the commission of such crimes.

State Responsibility for Transboundary Pollution and Its Assumption: The Case of Japan's Discharge of Nuclear Sewage

In recent years, the unilateral decision and behavior of Japanese government in discharging Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water without any guarantee of safety and reliability, despite the international communitys skepticism , have aroused the concern and anger of the people of the world. The act of discharging the nuclear-contaminated water was carried out under the authorization and control of the Government of Japan, which is contrary to the obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Convention on Nuclear Safety and other conventions to which Japan is a party, so it should be subject to the corresponding national responsibility. Regarding the assumption of responsibility, as the strength of the States themselves mainly promotes international legal obligations and responsibilities, Japan should withdraw its wrongful practice and assume its corresponding duties and responsibilities as soon as possible. The ocean makes the world's countries closely connected, and all countries' interests are closely intertwined, so it is necessary to build a national responsibility mechanism for transboundary pollution under the framework of international law. Based on the existing achievements, this paper discusses and analyzes the national responsibility for transboundary pollution and its assumption and the construction of the national responsibility mechanism, taking Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water as an example in order to strive to provide helpful theoretical support for judicial practice.

Reshaping the Contours of State Responsibility for Employing Private Military Companies: a Case Study Analysis of Russia's Role in Wagner's Activities in Ukraine

Reshaping the Contours of State Responsibility for Employing Private Military Companies: a Case Study Analysis of Russia's Role in Wagner's Activities in Ukraine

Juridical Analysis of the Concept of State Responsibility towards Natural Disaster Victims Based on Indonesian Law Number 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management

This research aims to analyze the concept of state responsibility towards natural disaster victims. Case study on the impact of the earthquake in West Sulawesi in 2021. The approach used is a philosophical approach. The research method used is a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach. The primary data used consists of interview data conducted with the Head of the BPBD of West Sulawesi Province, the Head of the Social Service of West Sulawesi Province, the Head of Law and Human Rights of West Sulawesi, and the community victims of Natural Disasters in West Sulawesi Province. The secondary data used includes (1) Primary legal materials, which are all related regulations such as the 1945 Constitution and Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights. (2) Secondary legal materials, which provide explanations of primary legal materials in the form of laws written in journals by legal scholars, and theories or opinions of experts such as the theories used, namely the theory of state responsibility, the theory of legal protection, and the theory of human rights. (3) Tertiary legal materials, which provide guidance in the form of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and books that explain primary and secondary legal materials. The research results show that the sustainability of victim handling and the effectiveness of social assistance guarantee implementation are influential factors on the state's responsibility towards natural disaster victims. The importance of human rights-based policies, coordination between the central, provincial, and regional governments, and the fulfillment of basic needs to ensure the state's responsibility towards victims are met.

Essay: Theoretical and normative foundations for global health law

The Provincial Globalism (PG) and Shared Health Governance (SHG) frameworks established in Global Health Justice and Governance (Oxford University Press, 2018), provide theoretical and normative foundations for global health law. They ground global health law in human flourishing and health capabilities and require standards and legal and non-legal measures to ensure global health equity and justice. Specified roles and responsibilities for international organizations, states, and non-state actors provide a clear and structured approach for achieving global health equity, replacing the current fragmented international and global health law landscape.

Reshaping the Contours of State Responsibility for Employing Private Military Companies: a Case Study Analysis of Russia’s Role in Wagner’s Activities in Ukraine

This study investigates legal accountability of the Russian Federation for private military company (PMC) Wagner’s actions in Ukraine, highlighting the applicability and limitations of customary international rules on state responsibility. Using a case study methodology, it examines Wagner's operational role in Ukraine and its complex relationship with the Russian state, applying Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (ARSIWA) as a theoretical framework. The findings reveal that current international law, codified in ARSIWA's rules on attribution, does not provide a framework for attributing Wagner's actions to the Russian Federation. Wagner does not function as an organ of the State (ARSIWA’s Article 4), nor does it meet the criteria for ‘effective control’ (ARSIWA’s Article 8), as required by customary rules on attribution in international jurisprudence. This legal framework's inability to address the nuanced and evolving nature of PMCs' involvement in State military activities points to a significant gap in international law. In response, the author proposes a four-step test under ARSIWA’s Article 8 for determining State control over PMCs. This test includes assessing the PMC's material dependency on the State, the degree of communication between the PMC and the state, the state's involvement in the PMC's strategic decision-making, and the PMC’s integration in the state's military manoeuvres. This approach seeks to reconcile the criteria of the ‘effective control’ and ‘overall control’ tests, aiming to more accurately reflect the realities of modern warfare and State-PMC relationships. Wagner members do not join for ideological reasons. They join for money.

State responsibility under Article 34 Paragraph 5 of the Korean Constitution and Rawls' principle of mutual assistance of citizens

State responsibility under Article 34 Paragraph 5 of the Korean Constitution and Rawls' principle of mutual assistance of citizens

Legal Vacuums: The Challenge of Protection for Climate Refugees

Climate change has triggered massive migrations known as climate refugees, individuals who have been forced to leave their homes due to natural disasters and deteriorating environmental conditions. However, the legal vacuum protecting climate refugees is an urgent issue. This article discusses the need to establish new conventions or protocols that specifically regulate the status and safety of refugees due to climate change. The research method is a normative juridical approach analysing applicable legal regulations and relevant case studies. The new convention should clearly define climate refugees, establish their fundamental rights, and affirm the principle of non-refoulement to protect them from deportation to dangerous areas. In addition, the state's responsibility in providing protection and funding mechanisms must also be regulated. While challenges such as disagreements between countries and a lack of awareness remain, global initiatives show progress toward better protection for climate refugees. As such, it is hoped that the new legal framework can provide legal clarity and ensure that the rights of climate refugees are recognised and protected internationally.

The Involvement of State Officials in the 2024 Election Campaign Reviewed from the Siyasah Dusturiyah Perspective

Elections are a democratic activity where every citizen has the right to directly elect leaders, people's representatives, and government officials for future leadership in a country. Apart from that, elections also become a stage for political contestation and become a democratic party in a democratic country. However, during the election, there were still many violations of the rules committed by several people. One of the rules that is often violated in organizing elections is during the campaign. This violation took the form of involvement of state officials in carrying out the campaign. In the 2024 Election, precisely during the campaign process, there are state officials who take part in the campaign, the state official who participates in the campaign is the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. Basically, state officials are allowed to campaign but must fulfill several provisions, one of which is taking leave outside the state's responsibility and not being able to use state facilities other than accompanying the state official. However, the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia carried out a campaign outside the leave period that he had proposed. So his involvement in the campaign violated election administration. However, it is a shame that he did not receive strict sanctions from Bawaslu, as stipulated in the law, but the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia only received a strong warning from Bawaslu. This has also been prohibited in Siyasah dusturiyah, this is the same as not carrying out the mandate and abusing the authority that has been given.

Principles of Child Protection in the National Criminal Code: Law Number 1 of 2023

The protection of children is a state responsibility based on the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As a member state, Indonesia ratified the Convention through Presidential Decree No. 36 of 1990. This study aims to analyze the implementation of child protection principles within the National Penal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023), referencing the four main pillars of the CRC: Non-Discrimination, the Best Interests of the Child, the Right to Survival and Development, and Child Participation. In this context, the author examines the application of these principles within various provisions of the Penal Code relevant to child protection. The analysis is conducted by categorizing these provisions based on the four main pillars of the CRC. This approach seeks to assess the extent to which the Penal Code aligns with international child protection standards while identifying potential inconsistencies that could harm children as legal subjects. By categorizing these provisions, the study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the integration of CRC principles into national criminal law and their implications for child protection in Indonesia. The results indicate that these principles have been incorporated into the Penal Code through specific provisions, particularly those concerning child protection. This reflects a national commitment to safeguarding children as a vulnerable group and ensuring their rights are fulfilled in accordance with international standards.

Еnvironmental responsibility during the war

The article substantiates the cause-and-effect relationship between the emergence of military conflicts and society’s orientation towards consumer values and the ruthless depletion of natural resources for profit, which leads to a significant deterioration in the environmental situation worldwide. Natural resources, favorable climatic conditions, geographical advantages, and a developed industrial base are all key factors contributing to wars, which in today’s globalized society take on hybrid forms, making it difficult to hold parties accountable for environmental crimes. Accordingly, the issue of environmental responsibility of belligerent states for crimes committed against nature is relevant and needs to be addressed both at the international and national levels. The purpose of the article is to study the phenomenon of environmental responsibility at two levels – philosophical and legal. The philosophical aspect allows for the identification of the moral and ethical factors influencing human disengagement from ecological awareness. The legal aspect examines the problem of the effectiveness of the principles and norms of international and national environmental law in wartime. Having conducted an interdisciplinary analysis of environmental responsibility from both philosophical and legal perspectives, we identified the mental causes of environmental problems, specifically those that clearly reveal the way of thinking and core values of contemporary society, and also clarified the existing problems and prospects in international law regarding individual and national liability for crimes against nature. The originality of the study lies in the fact that, firstly, the problem of environmental responsibility is considered in direct relation to the social, ethical, and legal factors shaping modern society; secondly, we have substantiated the need to develop a Fifth Geneva Convention for the protection of the environment during armed conflict and made proposals regarding its content; thirdly, the authors’ methodology for assessing the environmental responsibility of countries is presented based on data from authoritative international indices. The methodology includes criteria for environmental responsibility (achievement of sustainable development goals, environmental efficiency, rule of law, social progress) and the calculation of the index for five countries involved in armed conflicts. The results obtained demonstrate that wars, especially long ones, not only destroy ecological systems but also reduce the level of environmental responsibility involved countries and lead to a general decline in ecological awareness.